Calvin
"Let's go exploring!" -Calvin's last sentence, from It's a Magical World Calvin is one of the title characters of Calvin and Hobbes and the main protagonist, along with his stuffed tiger Hobbes. He is a perpetually six-year-old boy with a penchant for getting into trouble and a wildly vivid imagination. The comic almost always focuses on Calvin's life, his troubles, and his adventures, with Hobbes alongside all the while. He is the founder of G.R.O.S.S., a club designed to harrass girls, whose operations are often directed at Susie. Calvin is most remembered for his "dastardly plots" (most of the time against girls), his humor, his wisdom (and misapplication thereof) and his extensive vocabulary uncharacteristic to a six-year-old. His first piece of dialogue was the first line of the strip and his last line of dialogue was also the strip's final line. Calvin appeared in almost every strip of the series ever printed and published. History Early history Calvin originated during Watterson's first steps in syndicated cartooning. In among all of his rejected concepts, one of them stuck; that of a little boy and his stuffed tiger, two minor characters in a submission of his. The approval regarding this premise got Watterson to create the characters of Calvin and Hobbes, who appeared in the very first strip of the series. First Appearance In the first strip of Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin told his father, who was washing the family car, that he was "off to check (his) tiger trap". The trap, set up the previous day, consisted of a rope baited with a tuna fish sandwich that he claimed was irresistible to tigers. Appearance Calvin's main trademark appearance is his black pants and a striped red shirt, similar to Peanuts character Linus van Pelt. At times, depending on the season and weather, he is also seen wearing his winter clothes or his raincoat. Other times, Calvin changes into his Stupendous Man outfit, jumping inside the closet and donning his hood and cape. In a few strips, he is shown to wear "tighty-whitey" style underwear. Like most children in the strip, Calvin is extremely short, to the point that short pants touch his feet. Calvin's Alter egos Calvin's hyperactive imagination leads him to imagine himself as other characters with different powers and goals; he tends to vanish into a fantasy to alleviate boredom or solve a problem. It is important to note that Hobbes is not seen taking part in the fantasies involving Calvin's alter-egos, except when criticizing his choice of alternate personae. In many comics that involve Calvin as an alter ego, the strip is stylized in such a manner as to portray Calvin's environment from his imaginative point of view. The following entries describe Calvin's most prominent alter egos: *Spaceman Spiff is an intergalactic explorer who pilots a personal spaceship similar to a flying saucer. Spiff is often held prisoner on alien planets, somewhat mirroring how Calvin feels constrained by childhood. Calvin mostly dreams of this alter ego at school, and often includes Miss Wormwood as an alien. Spaceman Spiff is apparently based on a red toy spaceship of Calvin's, which only appeared once. Spaceman Spiff strips are drawn in an outlandish, colorful (both figuratively and, for Sunday comics, literally) style akin to that of science-fiction adventure comics. *Stupendous Man is a big-city superhero who dons a crimson hood and cape; his goal is simply to "defend liberty", a cliché in many early superhero comic books. However, he is never physically triumphant despite claimed "moral victories"; his powers are no match for those of antagonists such as Annoying Girl, Mom-Lady, and Babysitter Girl (counterparts of Susie Derkins, Calvin's mother, and Rosalyn, respectively). Among Calvin's three most prominent alter egos, Stupendous Man is the one that blurs the line between fantasy and reality the most: Calvin interacts in character with his entourage as Stupendous Man, and the superhero is also aware that Calvin is his alter ego. Stupendous Man comic are drawn in a vivid style reminiscent of early superhero strips. *Tracer Bullet is a stereotypical 1920s private detective ( or "private eye"). Although liable to get into trouble with organized crime and collecion agents, Tracer Bullet seems fairly competent at his job, with no failures ever noted and one almost definite success. These strips are drawn in an elaborate film noir style that Bill Watterson claims is very time-consuming to accomplish, explaining the relative scarcity of Bullet's appearances compared to other alter egos. Other Alter-Egos Calvin's Social Relationships Calvin's social relationships at home, in public, with other children and at school are not so stable. He has a hard time socializing, and thus, has no known friends. He is frequently bullied by Moe, and almost invariably antagonizes his babysitter, Rosalyn. His only real friend is his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, whom he is seldom seen without. Calvin's relationship with Susie Derkins is perhaps the most complex of all; although they usually appear to hate each other, some comics depict otherwise. For instance, Calvin agrees to play house with Susie on at least two occasions, and seemed please that Susie bothered to pay attention to his prank valentine. Even so, his dedication to G.R.O.S.S. is incomparable, and he labors hours upon hours to play tricks on Susie. Personality Named after 16th Century theologian John Calvin, (founder of Calvinism and a strong believer in predestination), Calvin is a selfish, impulsive, insubordinate, bratty, sensitive, rambunctious and obnoxious, but also imaginative, energetic, curious, and intelligent six-year-old who always acts before he thinks. However, he occasionally does try to show his true, good side in front of Hobbes. Calvin is generally misanthropic, and only feels significant sympathy for non-human animals. He has a significant admiration for tigers, instituted as a result of his friendship with Hobbes. Once, he even (unsuccessfully) tried to adopt the lifestyle of tigers. Calvin is a poor worker, postponing homework until the last minute and failing to pay attention in class. Despite his glaring lack of effort, he laments the amount of work he is given and insists that his dubious performance is not his responsibility but rather the system's. Although aware of his bad grades, he tends to concoct outrageous boasts, claiming that he will become very powerful and influential in the future without investing any more than he already does. When Calvin does apply himself, it is to fruitless goals; despite not having any ambition to be a paleontologist, he studies dinosaurs extensively, and his knowledge regarding the content of his comic books is impeccable. This is not to say that Calvin is unintelligent. Despite his low grades, he masters an expansive vocabulary and an advanced sense of irony which even rival those of an adult. Even so, he does not pass up opportunities to learn swear words, which he estimates to know too few of. He is prone to expressing philosophy when going for a stroll in the woods or using vehicles such as his wagon. His grapples with philosophical quandaries are usually cut short by a banal distraction, mischievous urge or sarcastic retort from either of his parents. Bill Watterson has described Calvin thus: *"Calvin is pretty easy to do because he is outgoing and rambunctious and there's not much of a filter between his brain and his mouth." *"I guess he's a little too intelligent for his age. The thing that I really enjoy about him is that he has no sense of restraint, he doesn't have the experience yet to know the things that you shouldn't do." *"The socialization that we all go through to become adults teaches you not to say certain things because you later suffer the consequences. Calvin doesn't know that rule of thumb yet." *"I must admit, that Calvin is good. he's always been my favorite book character and a good read when I'm down in the dumps. He always makes me laugh, and his surly attitude and having Hobbes around really just does it for anyone." Calvin has often been shown to have minor anti-social tendencies. He has wished he were dead, only to then say he really wished that everyone else was dead at least once, and often shows reluctance to join organizations. For example, story lines involving him as a Cub Scout were dropped because Watterson saw them as uncharacteristic, and, while explaining to Susie on a see-saw why he didn't sign up for recess baseball, says he hates organized sports (as opposed to when he plays Calvinball with Hobbes). Calvin occasionally addresses John Calvin's belief in predestination. Being a short-sighted child who dodges work, Calvin considers predestination as a favorable release from his responsibilities, whereas Hobbes sees it as a threat to individual freedom. Personal Life Calvin's personal life is documented to a certain extent. Both Calvin and Hobbes seem to be fans of superhero comic books. Batman and Astro Boy are the only "real" superheroes Calvin likes; although he is never seen reading any of the comics, there have been a few explicit references in some strips. The strip also contains several made-up, generic superhero comics; among them are Captain Napalm, Nukeman and Captain Steroid. Inventions Calvin occasionally makes machines (usually made out of a cardboard box), which normally lead to disaster. Here is a list of his inventions: * Transmogrifier * Transmogrifier Gun * Duplicator * Upgraded Duplicator (with Ethicator) * Time Machine * Box of Secrecy * Cerebral Enhance-o-Tron, '''a.k.a '''Thinking Cap * Concession Stand Calvin's last name Calvin's last name is never revealed to the reader, although a popular misconception has circulated that his last name is "Wunderkind". This dates back to the strip in which Calvin fantasizes about winning the poster contest at his school and imagining his name in the newspaper. The word "wunderkind" (which means "child prodigy") appears next to his name. It is also believed that Calvin's last name is Monroe. Originally, Monroe and Jones had an equal chance, but Jones appeared twice in Calvin and Hobbes, and was in a Homework paper, thus proving that it wasn't Calvin's last name. Mr. Monroe appeared only once and was eventually killed, much of how Calvin may have feelings and daydreams about his dad. Anyway, death was imminent for Mr. Monroe, who was probably supposed to be Calvin's father. Video Gallery http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKi3icdML6k&feature=player_detailpage Trivia *Calvin probably has a crush on Susie. *Calvin writes with both hands, but it is commonly shown to be right-handed. During the baseball strips, Calvin noticeably can be seen wearing a glove on a different hand in each panel. *Calvin's main personality varies in every comic strip. He's mainly shown to be mischievous and aggressive, but also shown to be adventurous, curious, and intelligent (to Calvin's demise). He is occasionally shown to be inappropriate (according to Calvin's snowmen) and miserable (when it comes to Moe, School, and other problems in mind) *Calvin hated being forced to learn how to swim, but he is commonly seen in his "kiddy pool" during the summer. *Interestingly, in both his first and last appearances, Calvin is wearing a hat of some sort, the first being a pith helmet and the last being a snow hat. *Calvin is shown to be ambidextrous. In fact, Hobbes and Susie are also shown to be ambidextrous while his father and mother are right handed. *Calvin seems to speak five different languages: English, Spanish, French, German, and Latin. *Calvin is shown to be a fan of Star Wars, Batman, and Looney Tunes, but seems to despise anything from Disney. *Calvin sometimes is shown having a watch, but it disappears between panels. *In some strips, Calvin is shown having five fingers. But in most strips, he is shown having only three or four. *Calvin has two favorite cereals, "Crunchy Sugar Bombs" and "Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs", although he is forced to eat oatmeal and sometimes Bran. *Calvin is often depicted of crashing 40% of the time on both the sled with red runners and the tobbogan. *Calvin and Susie are the only known characters who have creative imaginations. *In the early production stages of the series, Calvin's eyes were covered by his hair. Later on, people told Bill Watterson to show Calvin's eyes. *Calvin is known in one comic to have size 5 boots. *Calvin treats math problems like 3 plus 4 like they're awfully advanced for 1st grade. He has extremely poor math skills, although he once accidentally got 10 minus 3 right (the answer was 7). Calvin's dad was upset when he saw that Calvin thought 8 plus 4 equals 7, so he tells him the actual answer is 12. He also believes that 5 plus 6 is 6. His poor math skills is shown even stronger when it's revealed that Calvin thinks that three dimes is worth less than a quarter. However, a dime is smaller than a quarter by size, so that might be why Calvin thinks that three dimes is worth less. Although Hobbes usually shares Calvin's stupidity when it comes to math, he, unlike Calvin, seems to know to three dimes (which is 30 cents) is worth more than a quarter (which is 25 cents). *Calvin is creeped out by Somnabulists, or sleepwalkers. *Despite having a fit about how disgusting tortelinni is, he does not actually know what it is. *Calvin has attempted to mail himself to Australia to avoid being babysat by Rosalyn. *Despite Calvin not enjoying any kind of fish, he is sometimes seen opening cans of tuna. *Calvin expresses thoughts about politics, environmental concerns, current events, paleontology, archeology and physics, yet gets poor grades on simple schoolwork. *Calvin carries a Swiss Army Knife. See Also * Calvinball * Cardboard box * Hobbes * HateShipping * calvin's underpants Category:Calvin Category:G.R.O.S.S. members Category:Characters